i luv fashion!!!

I actually enjoy reading the fiction on my Kindle, and deciding which of the projects or recipes I might do at home. This is sick because most Victorian mainstream novel give me narcolepsy, if not heartburn. The editors of Godey's had an audience in mind that wanted things rather lighter and faster paced. In one of their advices to those submitting fiction they suggest skipping detailed descriptions of the beauty of the lead characters "because no one reads them," and I can't thank them enough for the quote for my writing students. I'm not sure how realistic any of it is, but it can't violate their readers' realities, so I find it a fun way to tour the Northeast in 1880.

Covering as it does 6 months, locating specific things you like might be difficult, so since I had to do this for myself, I share it with you. I happen to like historical cooking (Spartan good, Athenian horrible; too Medieval or Renn is very ... Athenian)and these probably err on the bland side, if you must have chili or pepper in everything. The handwork articles may have something delightful for knitters and crocheters, but the rest of us rarely get detailed instructions. Still, it's a fun inspiration. As for re-enactors needing period music, this is you spot.

Works Dept, pic/instructions
69 Vanity
70 Knitting basket
71 Neck shade for man's cap
72 Pillow
73 Perf paper cigar box
149 Hardanger tidy
150 Embroidered bag
151 child's stocking
151 reins
152 outline embroidered doily set
153 jet trim -- no real instructions
229-30 pattern for skirt
230-1 macrame purse
231-2 child's drawers
232 hardanger, holbein & xstitch apron
249/312 workbasket from straw hat
310 a bodice
311 cover for perfume to prevent evaporation
311-2 bib for baby
312 footrest pillow
313 trimmed cap box
314 cravat bow, embroidered
391 decorated table based on white wood boughten one
391-2 table cover embroidered
393 knit a counterpane
393-4 trained skirt
411/472-3 full half-pattern for lady's vest w/embroidery
472 child's bodice
472 Bavarian doll costume
473 Xmas centerpiece
474 Doll's pavilion
475 night gown sachet

Sheet Music
19, 98, 178, 234, 259, 340, 421

Recipes
74, 154, 233, 315, 396, 476